Ossie Vitt

Oscar Joseph "Ossie" Vitt was born January 4, 1890 in San Francisco, Califoria and died January 31, 1963 in Oakland, California. Vitt was a Major League Baseball infielder and manager. Ossie Vitt played for the Detroit Tigers (1912-1918) and Boston Red Sox (1919-1921) during his ten-year playing career. As manager of the Cleveland Indians for three seasons, Vitt sometimes clashed with his players.

Playing Career

Ossie Vitt was a product of the sandlots of San Francisco. He broke into the Pacific Coast League as third baseman for the San Francisco Seals in 1911. He later advanced to the majors as a utility infielder for the Detroit Tigers. As the Tigers' regular third baseman from 1915 through 1917, he never batted higher than .254. But he was described as a smart, scrappy baseball man.

Vitt had a 10-year career as a third baseman. Vitt was a good-field, no-hit third baseman from the 1910's. In 1,065 games he batted .238 with 894 hits, 4 HR and 295 RBI. His best success came as a third baseman for the Detroit Tigers. His .960 fielding average in 10 years at 3rd base was 20 points higher than the Major League average for 3rd basemen of his era.

On January 17, 1919, Vitt was traded by the Detroit Tigers to the Boston Red Sox for Eddie Ainsmith, Chick Shorten, and Slim Love.

Managerial Career and the "Cleveland Crybabies"

After playing in the majors for 10 years, Vitt was recommended to Oakland Oaks' owner Victor Devincinzi by the Yankees' management to manage the Oaks in 1935. His style was described as both abrasive and motivational, pushing the Oaks to a third place finish.

Vitt moved on in the Yankees' organization the next year, managing their farm team in Newark. He was then hired by the Cleveland Indians in 1938 to replace Steve O'Neil as manager and instill new life into their team.

Vitt's role in the 1940 Cleveland Indians team known as the "Cleveland Crybabies" has become a baseball legend. "I don't want any lazy players on my club," said Vitt when he was hired. "If the boys won't hustle, out they go." That sounds harmless enough, but the players felt they were being accused. The Indians fared well enough during Vitt's first two years on the job, finishing third each time in the eight-team A.L., partly because of the pitching of a sensational youngster, Bob Feller. Yet, there were frequent clashes between Vitt and his players, and their discontent festered.

On June 11, 1940, after a sequence of confrontations between Vitt and the players, matters came to a head when he went to the mound to remove Mel Harder, who was being hit hard. "When are you going to start earning your salary?" asked Vitt of a fine pitcher who had won at least 15 games for eight consecutive seasons, with two 20-game campaigns included. The team revolted against Vitt and many players signed a petition to have Vitt removed. After the incident with Mel Harder, a dozen Indians met with owner Alva Bradley to state their grievances against Vitt, whom they described as a "wild man." They made it clear they hoped he would be fired. In the closed door meeting between Indians players and owner, Mel Harder told Bradley: "We think we have a good chance to win the pennant, but we'll never win it with Vitt as manager. If we can get rid of him, we can win. We feel sure about that." Bradley sought to keep the controversy quiet, but the story quickly got out, and newspaper headlines all over the nation referred gleefully to the Indians as the "Cleveland Crybabies."

Despite all the hullabaloo and ridicule, the Indians, with Vitt hanging on to his job, battled the Detroit Tigers for the pennant to the last day of the 1940 season. Through June, the talented 1940 Indians team was 42-25. After June, with the "Crybabies" harangue clanging in the papers and from the stands, they went 47-40, not a collapse, but just not good enough to stay ahead of the Detroit Tigers who beat the Tribe out by a single game. Bob Feller, a 27-game winner that year, lost the decisive game 2-0.

External link

• Ossie Vitt career statistics